A VAN driver was being treated in hospital last night for serious wounds after he was stabbed in the stomach during a road rage incident.The 29-year-old man was taken to Ipswich Hospital for emergency treatment for stomach injuries on Saturday afternoon.

By Richard Smith

A VAN driver was being treated in hospital last night for serious wounds after he was stabbed in the stomach during a road rage incident.

The 29-year-old man was taken to Ipswich Hospital for emergency treatment for stomach injuries on Saturday afternoon.

The incident, described by police as an ''altercation'', happened at 4pm in Shepherd Drive, near the baptist church.

A Suffolk police spokesman said: ''A 29-year-old man together with his father had an altercation with a man driving a black Vauxhall Corsa.

''During this altercation the offender, the driver of the car, described as mixed race, stabbed the 29-year-old in the stomach. The incident happened on the grass area near the baptist church in Shepherd Drive."

''The victim was driving a large white panelled van with a red tape around the base. The 29-year-old, although with serious stomach injuries, is not in a life threatening condition at Heath Road Hospital.''

Police officers are keen for any witnesses to come forward and contact WDC Windsor at Ipswich CID on 01473 613500.

The offender is described as being aged in his 20s and of mixed race. He was driving a black new looking Vauxhall Corsa and it is possible he had one or two women with him.

This is the second serious attack on Suffolk's roads within the last five weeks. A 28-year-old woman working as a carer for Ipswich based Classic Care was travelling to her last home visit patient in Cornard Tye when a man plunged a four-inch knife into her stomach on an isolated road on April 3.

He accused the woman of cutting him up before he stabbed her. She had a three-hour operation at Colchester General Hospital for the knife to be removed.